Nurses’s union settles contract with Westchester County

The New York State Nurses Association has negotiated a contract with Westchester County with annual raises of 2 percent or less and new contributions to health insurance premiums.

The contract is the fourth that includes the health contributions, a provision County Executive Rob Astorino has insisted on in negotiations with county unions. The largest union, CSEA, still has not settled a contract.

The four-year contract covers about 50 nurses who work for the county in various departments including at the county jail, the Health Department and the Department of Social Services. The other unions that have settled contracts with health contributions are the Teamsters, which mostly represents county attorneys, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association and the Corrections Superior Officers Association.

“I want to thank the nurses union for working with me to settle this contract under terms that are fair to both the union and the taxpayers,” Astorino said in a statement. “Since taking office in 2010, I have repeatedly called on our county government unions to pay a portion of their health care costs – just like everyone else does – and now four of our unions have stepped up and chipped in.”

The contract includes no increase in salary for 2012 and 2013, a 2 percent increase for 2014 and a 1.5 percent increase in 2015. Health contributions begin next year. The union members will move to a less expensive insurance plan that will offset the salary increases. Retiree benefits will remain the same.

The contract is expected to save $107,000 over the remainder of this year and $297,000 over the life of the contract, the statement says.

Elizabeth Ganga covers Westchester County government and politics. She has worked for The Journal News/LoHud.com since 2000 covering municipalities and schools in southern and northern Westchester and writing about housing, the environment and other issues.